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While going through the home buying process, you want to make sure the place you hope to call home is safe and ready to move into. Your inspector will check all the essential items, but make sure they don’t miss the attic. Yes it might just look like a dusty and musty nuisance but it is important to check for many things while up there. The attic of the home can tell you more than you expect it will tell you some of the history behind your home.

1. Truss and Rafter Damage- While looking at the outside of a roof it is almost impossible to notice slight damage or sometimes even moderate damage to supports in your roof. The last thing you need is moving into your new place, and a week later part of your roof collapses.

2. Fire Damage- The whole home may look to be perfect and pristine. But is that just a cover-up for what has happened to the house before it was beautiful. In the attic you can see fire damage that wasn’t covered up by a new coat of paint and new flooring.

3. Insulation- this is essential to keeping your home heating and cooling bill under control. You will want to know what type of insulation you have in your attic and make sure it is installed properly.

4. Water Damage- There are only two ways water will typically enter your home. It will either enter from the basement from flooding, or from the roof as it rains. If you don’t have water damage in the basement that doesn’t mean there isn’t any in attic.

5. Animals- Pesky little critters like to make your home their home. We are not talking about cute little mice that help you clean and do chores like in children’s movies. We are talking about the kind that eat your wiring and wreck havoc!

6. Chimney- Your inspector won’t be able to check out the inside of the chimney from inside the attic but he will be able to check the integrity of the structure.

Regardless of whether it is a law in your area or not, it’s always a good idea to have your home inspected. There are a lot of things you can do to help prepare for a home inspection.

How the Seller Can Prepare:

Most of the preparation will fall into the hands of the seller- they are trying to convince others to buy their house, so they do not want any road bumps in their way.

Before you even get into the larger projects, fix smaller ones like loose handles, light bulbs that went out, and that leaky faucet. Then, you can move on to the bigger projects, like your roof.

Many people forget that their house needs to look clean, as well. If someone were to come in and see a dirty home, their first impression would be that it wasn’t well taken care of- and won’t look very good in the eyes of the person doing your inspection.

Be ready for the scheduled appointment at least half an hour early. An inspection can take up to three hours, so it’s a good idea to have as few hang-ups as possible.

If you have already moved out of the house, make sure that amenities like water and gas are hooked up so the inspector can make sure everything is in order for the buyers.

If there are any outdoor electrical outlets or other units, make sure they are accessible. Trim bushes and hedges, and make sure to move any trash cans.

If you have had anything repaired recently in your home, keep the receipts to show the inspector- this will show him just how up to date certain features are.

If at all possible, allow space and time for the inspector to do their work. This will allow them to work quicker and concentrate better- particularly if there are young children in the home.

How the Buyer Can Prepare:

While there isn’t much, there is some that the buyer can do to make sure the efforts are productive.

Attending the inspection will give you an in-depth look at the house and learn your way around it.

Make a list of questions or concerns you would have about the property.

Understand that every home will have its flaws, so expect some imperfections. Be proactive in the repair of the home!

When you’re ready to move into another house, whether you’re upgrading or downsizing, you’ll want a qualified home inspector at your side for both the purchase of your new home, and the sale of your hold one.

Most homeowners feel that a home inspection is just a formality during the process. However, it’s so much more than that. A home inspection protects you from having to deal with an underlying problem in your new home, and it can help you get your asking price on your current home.

To get an idea of what you can expect, check out some of the common problems that are often found during a home inspection.

Roofing Problems

Subjected to sun, rain, and storms, roofs protect us from the elements, meaning roofs take a beating. Eventually, they may develop mold, or begin to shift.

Stucco Problems

Water is an enemy of Stucco, so if it’s on the home’s exterior, it will need to be touched up often. A homeowner might not notice small stucco cracks in the corner, but a potential buyer will.

Sloping Problems

Sometimes, the foundation can slope back towards the house, causing wet spots in the basement or bottom floor.

Structural Problems

Depending on the material that the home consists of, the structural integrity might not be the same as when you purchased it. An inspection will verify the homes safety.

Electrical Problems

There have been so many technological advances in the last few years. It’s a good idea to check the electrical wiring to ensure that it can support all of the technology in your life. Unfortunately, it’s often found that wiring is outdated or unable to support many modern electronics at once.

Homeowners already have a laundry list of things that need be done get the home ready to be shown. Now that you have received and accepted an offer, the next step is to have your home inspected.

There are many items that often get overlooked because you walk through your home on a daily basis, but the home inspector will have a fresh set of eyes on your property and he will be able to tell if there are major issues that need to be taken care of before the home is sold. Here are a few items that you can do on your own to prepare for the inspection.

Remove trees or mulch from the siding, rule of thumb is that your brush should be at least six inches away from your house.

Make sure that your gutters are all in working order, run the hose through the gutters to clean them out. Also, all water should be diverted from your house when it drains through.

Clean out the attic, garage, shed and crawl space, these areas need to be easily accessible for the inspector.

If there are large cracks in your driveway, take time to seal them up before the inspector comes.

If there have been any major repairs done or you have warranties on anything for your house, leave out the proper documentation to show that you are on top of costly items.

Be sure that your house complies with your town’s laws on smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in each room and floor.

Leave all of your utilities connected, the home inspector will test everything to ensure that it is in working order, even if your home is vacant make sure that everything can be tested.

Ensure that your plumbing is all in working condition, including hot and cold water, if there are any leaks; make sure to seal them up.

Clean or replace your heating and air conditioning filters, these items will be tested during the inspection.

Be prepared to leave your house for at least 3 hours. This will give the inspector enough time to go through your house and answer any questions that the buyer may have. It is often incredibly uncomfortable for the buyers to ask questions if the current homeowner is present.

It’s important to trust an expert’s opinion, especially when it comes to something as important as the construction and location of your home. You may have a perfect ideal of your dream home in your head, but you should heed every warning presented to you from engineers who may have concerns.

The consequences of failing to listen to smart advice has played out in a very dramatic way in Washington State over the past month. Many of our readers will be aware of the mudslide in a small community near Oso WA that may have killed dozens of residents. Many readers may be unaware, however, that this particular area had been deemed as a pretty hazardous zone for at least a decade.

As this article published by The Wall Street Journal reports, early signs that this area could experience a catastrophic landslide event first surfaced in 1999. In that year, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study on fish-habitat assessments in the area included scientist concerns that the very patch of ground that gave way in March was potentially very unstable. Many government representatives now believe that information should have been made more public or should have raised more red flags with the county government.

Even after that report, a small landslide event in 2006 didn’t deter people from making their residence in this risky terrain. Although the county took some measures during the clean-up to prevent future landslides, one geomorphologist who contributed to the 1999 Army Corps of Engineers study, Daniel Miller, tried to enlighten homeowners to the risks that remained.

We don’t need to go through the tragic results of this past month to show our readers how important it is to consider terrain before making a major investment on a home. Here at Above & Beyond Inspections, we aim to earn our name by providing thorough pre-purchase inspections. Our services can help you uncover an array of issues related to your property’s terrain or any unwanted pests. We serve the Washington State communities of Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and other surrounding areas.

The real estate transaction process is one that can create a lot of anxiety in either a homebuyer or someone selling a home. Between all the forms that must be filed, the deadlines that must be met and holding your breath as the closing date approaches, buying a home will be one of the toughest, most significant things you’ll do in your life.

That’s why it’s so important to make sure that you do every last bit of research you need to complete before finalizing the sale. Much of this will revolve around the home inspection; you know how much the property is listing for on the market, but how much extra money will you need to put into it once it’s yours?

The question often arises during the real estate sales process: Who is responsible for making sure that a home inspection is completed? Prior to a sale, a house should be thoroughly inspected to make sure that no code violations are passed on to the next owner. But is it the prior owner’s legal responsibility to check for violations or issues, or is that the buyer’s liability?

The real answer is that either side will benefit from having a professional service come in and locate any cracks in the wall or utility issues that can cost thousands of dollars to repair. For a homeowner who is selling, this home inspection allows them to advertise their home price as “move-in” or “turn-key ready.” As this article from The Valley News indicates, this means that a homeowner’s real estate price really is the bottom line of what a homebuyer will have to pay without any costly repairs. It’s recommended that much of this work takes place before a home is listed.

As a homebuyer, you can protect your interests by having your prospective next home inspected before you agree to buy. This will help a buyer uncover any needed HVAC, plumbing, basement or electrical system issues, allowing them to negotiate a better price.

The rules regarding home inspections are sometimes vague and difficult to understand, but a good rule of thumb is to always make sure you have all possible information. If you’re planning to jump into Washington State’s real estate market, give Above & Beyond Inspections a quick call. We’ll be happy to help you find all the important information you need for your prospective real estate transaction.